If you're thinking of reading this, let me help: just say no!
Since I don't usually read history, I was surprised that I enjoyed this book. It is odd, in that it is a collection of essays about historical figures, but amplified by fictional detail and dialog, in the spirit of Schama, but on steroids. Kind of a Readers Digest vibe though.
Maeda is a professor at MIT and associate director of the MIT Media Lab. This is a worthwhile little book whose target audience is probably folks who do product design (hardware or software). I particularly liked the first four of Maeda's 10 laws; you can read about them on his web site at lawsofsimplicity.com.
I like the Reacher series, by Lee Child. This one wasn't his best work though.
This was an enjoyable suspense novel. The heroes are associated with a security firm which is, apparently, the subject of several other books by this author. I won't go out of my way to look for them, but this was a decent read.
I keep reading - even though many, perhaps most of the novels I read aren't very good, or are good but not great, and almost never fantastic. I keep reading because I know that eventually I will happen upon another wonderful book, a novel so interesting, well written and effective that finding it will make slogging through the chaff worth while.
This book was interesting, frustrating, then even more frustrating. The narrative style was to intersperse scenes from different times: future, present, past. The plot was - well, that's where the word frustrating comes in.
This is an excellent, suspenseful novel. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.
I enjoyed this more than any other of James Patterson's books. Probably because it wasn't about the "women's murder club" and because while there were murders (well it is that sort of novel), they weren't of the annoying, "kill off the main characters' close friends and family" variety.
After my prior experience with Ms. Tan's "bombshell" press, I promised myself never again. But it turns out I'd already requested this book from the library. And when it arrived, well how could I not read a library book ordered just for me?